Building the STEM Workforce Today’s Talent Pool Can’t Provide

Thank you to Under30CEO for referencing us in this great article.

Today’s tight labor market is flipping the script on recruiting. Rather than job seekers trying to impress employers, the opposite is happening. Apprenticeship opportunities, in which employees are paid to be trained rather than incur student debt, have grown by 42 percent since 2013. And they’re no longer limited to blue-collar fields: Most of the growth has been fueled by companies in science and technology.

The global talent gap is expected to reach 85.2 million people by 2030; it’s not surprising that companies are looking for new ways to fill talent pipelines. Automation is displacing basic labor while high-tech skills are growing in importance, rendering the limited supply of qualified talent extremely attractive. Rather than try to recruit talent unicorns, companies are increasingly trying to cultivate their own stars.

Building talent from the ground up sounds like a huge undertaking. However, research suggests that present and future workers are uniquely enthusiastic about professional development. People born after 1980 — Millennials and Gen Zers — are three times more likely than Baby Boomers to embrace self-motivated reskilling. This drive for advancement will prove critical as the skills gap grows.

Read the full article from Under30CEO here.